The Imperial Family of the Han Dynasty: Liu Bang's Wives and Daughters

After Liu Bang became emperor, there were many harem beauties who waited on him for food, clothing and shelter. Eight of his wives and concubines are recorded: Cao, Lu Pheasant, Qi Ji, Lady Guan, Zhao Zi'er, Bo Ji, Zhao Ji and Shi Mei.

His favourite women were all reincarnated as his pets from heaven who went to earth to experience life. For Liu Bang had made a deal with his pets before his reincarnation: it was fine to follow him to earth, but it was up to their destiny as to what role they would be reincarnated into. Liu Bang foresaw before his reincarnation that his pets would fight over him and fight to the death because of their greed and desire. One time. Because Liu Bang had limited energy, he had to rule his country and fight in the north and south, so he could not treat all of his pets and daughters equally at the same time.

To cut a long story short, of the eight women Liu Bang had in his life, three are the most noteworthy: Empress Lu, Lady Qi and Empress Dowager Bo. Because these three women played an important role in Liu Bang's creation and consolidation of the Han dynasty, together with Liu Bang, they made outstanding contributions to the establishment, consolidation and development of the Han dynasty, and they were the missing women in Liu Bang's life.

One of Liu Bang's female favourites: Lü Phe (吕雉), known as Xue E (姁娥), was the first wife officially married to Liu Bang, the first of the Han Gaozu. She became married to Liu Bang because Lü's father saw in him a dignified imperial face and a handsome and dashing temperament that was bound to prosper in the future, and Lü Phe later became Liu Bang's political partner.

　　After marrying Liu Bang, Lu Pang went through a lot of hardship before she was made empress and worked with him to manage and consolidate the Han dynasty. Despite coming from a wealthy family, Lu Phe had to not only raise her children but also work in the fields to support the son and daughter she bore for Liu Bang before he became emperor. Lu Pang and Liu Bang had more than their fair share of problems. When Liu Bang escorted the prisoners to Mount Li, people kept escaping along the way. Afterwards, Liu simply released the prisoners, giving them a chance to give up their evil ways and be reborn. This incident implicated Lu Pian, who was implicated in the crime and was imprisoned and humiliated by the government.

　　Before Liu Bang became emperor, he succeeded in capturing numerous cities, but later faced an initial setback when he took on Xiang Yu. In 205 BC, Liu Bang was defeated by Xiang Yu, and Lu Pang and Liu Bang's parents were captured by Xiang Yu, who consequently also kept Lu Pang as a hostage for almost three years. After being captured by Xiang Yu, Lu Pang still waited heartily for Liu Bang, which became an important reason for her being made empress, and laid the foundation for her to take charge of the dynasty after Liu Bang's death. In the autumn of 203 BC, Liu Bang listened to Zhang Liang's battle plan and mobilised 400,000 troops, including Han Xin, Peng Yue, Ying Bu and Liu Jia, to surround 100,000 Chu troops at Gaixia (now Lingbi in Anhui province, or Huaiyang and Luyi in Henan province). Xiang Yu's Chu army was depleted and defeated. The Song of Chu on All Sides

Liu Bang made the Han army sing the Chu song at night. The Chu army, from Xiang Yu downwards, thought that the Han Dynasty had completely conquered all the Chu lands. Seeing that the situation in Chu was over, Xiang Yu led his 800 elite cavalry to break out and flee south at night. After dawn, the Han army learned of Xiang Yu's breakthrough and sent 5,000 cavalry after him. Xiang Yu crossed the Huai River with only a hundred horsemen left with him, and when he reached Yinling (northwest of Dingyuan, Anhui Province), he was deceived by Tian Fu and chased by the Han army. Xiang Yu was wounded in more than ten places, and finally killed himself at the age of 31. Xiang Yu led 800 horsemen to break out of the siege and flee south, and Liu Bang sent his troops to pursue him. Xiang Yu was defeated and killed himself at Wujiang (the town of Wujiang on the border of Anhui and Anhui to the northeast of Anhui Province).

The war between Chu and Han lasted more than three years, and Xiang Yu was defeated when he fled in panic, losing 100,000 troops. After the battle of Gaixia, Liu Bang led all the heroes and heroines to wipe out the Chu army and win the final victory, establishing the Western Han Dynasty.

Liu Bang was able to rescue Lu Phe and her parents, who were then returned to the Han Dynasty and stayed in Guanzhong. After Liu Bang was crowned emperor, Lu Phe was made empress, Liu Bang and Lu Phe's son Liu Ying was made crown prince, and his daughter was named Princess Lu Yuan.

After Liu Bang was crowned emperor, when many people tried to rebel against him and split the Han dynasty, Empress Lu supported him in removing the vassal kings with different surnames and completely consolidated and unified the Han dynasty.

　　After Liu Bang's death, Empress Lu and Liu Bang's son Liu Ying became emperor: Emperor Hui of Han. In the seventh year of his reign, Liu Ying died of depression. From then on, Empress Lu "claimed power in the dynasty" and held it for eight years. She became the first woman in the history of the Chinese imperial dynasty to hold sole power over the state.

Fortunately, during her fifteen years in power, Empress Lu continued to implement the policy of rest and recuperation laid down by the Han emperor Liu Bang: 1: the counties and counties nominated outstanding farmers and gave them encouragement, reduced taxes, and changed the Qin tax from a tax of five to a tax of one; 2: peasants who had previously fled the mountains, lakes and migrated to other places were allowed to return to their hometowns and their fields and homes, and officials were not allowed to scold or discriminate against them for past misdeeds; 3: slave girls were released and returned to their hometowns to work in farming. The officials were not allowed to interfere with their work; 4: the redundancy of a large number of officers and soldiers and their return to their hometowns, with priority given to land and proper resettlement; 5: an amnesty for all; 6: the abolition of the Qin crime of razing three clans by association and the harsh laws such as the "evil words order"; 7: the adoption of a policy of peace with the Xiongnu to stabilise the border. The implementation of these policies eased internal and external conflicts, promoted agricultural development, restored the social economy of the time, maintained the peace and stability of the Han Dynasty, and strengthened the state power of the Han Dynasty. Liu Bang and Empress Lu took control of the Han dynasty in succession and made outstanding contributions to the stable economic and social development and peaceful unification of the Han dynasty. In 180 BC, Empress Lu died at the age of 62. The Records of the Grand Historian says: "At the time of Emperor Gao Hou of Xiaowei, the people were free from the sufferings of war and chaos. The ruler and his ministers all wanted to rest and do nothing. Therefore, Emperor Hui was in charge and Empress Gao was in charge. The government was kept out of the house and the world was at peace. Punishments were rare, sinners were scarce, the people did their harvesting, and food and clothing flourished." This is a correct assessment of Empress Lu.

The second of Liu Bang's favourite daughters: Lady Qi

Liu Bang and Lady Qi met in the midst of war, when Liu Bang was on the run.

In 2025 BC, when Xiang Yu led his troops northwards to attack the king of Qi, Liu Bang took the opportunity to capture Xiang Yu's temporary capital (present-day Xuzhou). When Xiang Yu heard the news, he was very angry. He personally led 30,000 elite soldiers to pounce on Liu Bang's army. Liu Bang led his troops to resist, but was eventually outnumbered and abandoned the city. It was late in the day when Liu fled alone to Qi's village, some 20 miles southeast of Caozhou. Liu was so tired that he jumped off his horse and rested under an old tree at the head of the village when he heard his pursuers coming. Just as Liu Bang was at his wit's end, he looked up and saw a beautiful garden where a father and daughter were tending to the branches of their flowers. In a flash of insight, Liu Bang approached the father and daughter and lied that he was one of King Liu's men and had been chased here during the war, hoping they would give him a place to take refuge from the pursuers. The young woman, in her haste, told Liu Bang to take refuge in a dry well in the garden. The clever woman struck the warhorse several times with a wooden stick, and it ran off towards the outskirts of the village. The pursuers followed the war horse all the way to the village, only to find that it was just a horse and Liu Bang was nowhere to be found. In this way, Liu Bang was saved by the two women. In the evening, the old flower farmer asked his daughter to prepare a meal for Liu Bang to enjoy. It was then that Liu Bang learnt that the old man's surname was Qi, and that the wise woman who had saved Liu Bang was only 18 years old at the time. The woman was young and beautiful, and Liu Bang was saved by the beautiful woman in his distress, so naturally he fell in love with her, and Liu Bang wanted to thank them for saving his life, so he said, "I am actually Liu Bang, King of Han ... " After hearing Liu Bang's words, Hua Nong Qi's father and daughter hurriedly fell to the ground on both knees, "I didn't know that the King of Han was here, so I hope you will forgive me for not being well entertained." Liu Bang said, "Get up quickly, I still have to thank you for saving my life. If I win the world, I will make daughter Qi a noble consort." Once again, father and daughter Hua Nong Qi bowed and thanked him for his kindness.

The clever and beautiful woman changed into a beautiful dress that night, danced a folding dance, drank wine with Liu Bang and married him that night. Liu Bang said to Lady Qi, "If we have a child in the future we will name it Ruyi, because you saved me and gave me back my peace and good fortune!" Lady Qi and Liu Bang's child was the later King Ruyi of Zhao. Because of her resourcefulness and bravery, Lady Qi was carried by Liu Bang around to the north and south, never leaving him and loving him.

　　After Liu Bang established the Han Dynasty and became emperor, he honoured the promise he had made to the two flower-farming women by making Lady Qi a noble consort, and Liu Bang loved Lady Qi throughout his life. As a result, Empress Lu was cynical and resentful. Liu Bang was so fond of his son, Ruyi, that he wanted to abolish Liu Ying, the weak prince born to Empress Lu, and make Ruyi the prince of Zhao. However, Empress Lu never gave her consent and Liu Bang had to give up the idea.

　　In 195 BC, Liu Bang became seriously ill and knew that he would soon leave this world, so the idea of a new crown prince came to him. Liu Ying was assisted by the four wise men and was able to consolidate his position as Crown Prince.

Liu Bang saw that it was no longer possible to change the crown prince, so he was a bit sad and helpless. He called Lady Qi to him and pointed to the back of the "four wise men" and said, "I would have liked to change the crown prince, but he has already been assisted by the four wise men and his wings are already rich, so it is difficult to change his position. Liu Bang sighed long and hard as he finished his speech.

Lady Qi was also very sad, she did not know what kind of life she and her son Ruyi would face after Liu Bang's death.

That night, Liu Bang asked Lady Qi to dance the Chu dance, while he himself sang a poem through the wine: "The swan flies high, a thousand miles in one go. With his wings in place, he will be able to reach the four seas. What can be done about it? Though I have a bow, I can't do anything about it!" Liu Bang sorrowfully and emotionally sings a poem about the end of his life, everything seems like a dream, even though he is the ruler of a country many things cannot be absolutely fair, Liu Ying and Liu Ruyi are both sons of Liu Bang, what will be their fate after his death?

After the death of Liu Bang, Liu Ying became the emperor of the Han Dynasty, namely Emperor Hui of Han, and Empress Lu became the Empress Dowager.

The first thing that Empress Lu did after the death of Liu Bang was to make her wear prison clothes and iron shackles and pound rice in Yongchun Lane. Lady Qi sorrowfully made a poem and sang: "The son is the king, the mother is the captive, all day long pounding the dusk, often with death! Three thousand miles apart, when who will make to tell you?"

After hearing the poem sung by Madame Qi, Lu Pang used it as an excuse to poison Liu Ruyi, order her hair to be cut off, cut off her hands and feet, clip out her eyes with two crescent-shaped pincers, deafen her ears with incense candles, pour dumb wine into her, and lock her up in a toilet, naming her a "human pig". After the death of Liu Bang, Madame Qi lost the protection of Liu Bang and was tortured to death by Empress Lu.

After Liu Bang defeated Xiang Yu and unified the Han Dynasty, Bo Ji was sent to the Han Palace to work as a weaver in the weaving room. After Liu Bang had defeated Xiang Yu, she was sent to work as a weaver in the Han palace. Once, by chance, Liu Bang passed by the weaving room and saw how beautiful Bo Ji was, he took her into his harem. However, there were many concubines in his harem and Liu Bang did not touch Bo Ji for a long time. The two sisters who were friends with Bo Ji in the palace made a pact with her: if one of the three could be favoured by Liu Bang, don't forget the other two. Later, Bo Ji's two beautiful sisters were favoured by Liu Bang first. As a result, they mocked Bo Ji, saying, "Poor Bo Ji, perhaps you will never have the chance to see Liu Bang in your life, let alone get Liu Bang's love!" This happened to be overheard by Liu Bang, who took pity on Bo Ji and asked her to come to him in his bedroom that night, where she was named "Ji". After a night of love and compassion, Liu Bang gave birth to Liu Heng, who later became the emperor of the Han Dynasty, Liu Heng, the Emperor of Western Han.

After Liu Bang's death, Bo Ji left Chang'an as a matter of course. She went to find her son Liu Heng in the state of Dai (modern Shanxi) and was reunited with him.

　　After Liu Bang's death, because of the weak character of her own son Liu Ying, Empress Lu began to assist Liu Ying in his reign and later became the first female empress to hold the power of the Han dynasty herself.

Empress Lu killed six of Liu Bang's eight sons in order to ensure that his hard-earned empire was not usurped by foreigners and to consolidate her political position.

Bo Ji and her son Liu Heng were spared as they had never had a grudge against Empress Lu.

　　Empress Lu died after 15 years of dictatorship, after which the Lu family power was overthrown by the old ministers of Han Gaozu. By this time only Liu Heng, King of Dai, and Liu Chang, King of Huainan, remained among Liu Bang's sons. But Liu Chang's mother's relatives were too harsh and powerful, and the ministers, in order not to repeat the mistakes of the Lü's relatives who had interfered in the dynasty, compared the personalities, abilities and characteristics of Liu Heng, King of Dai, and Liu Chang, King of Huainan, with the personalities of the two princes' mothers, and found that Liu Heng, the prince born to Liu Bang and Bo Ji, was prudent and quiet, and thought twice before he acted as emperor. Liu Heng's mother, Bo Ji, was a lifelong admirer of the Taoist ideology of doing nothing and going with the flow of nature. She was uncontentious, tolerant, loyal and motherly, and would have made an excellent empress dowager. So the Han ministers chose Liu Heng as their successor and immediately sent someone to the Dai State to welcome Liu Heng into the capital as emperor.

　　After his accession to the throne, Liu Heng was able to achieve a strong state and prosperity for the people, starting the "Reign of Wen and Jing". Liu Heng, the Emperor of Han, was cautious in dealing with the overwhelming power of the vassal states and the invasion of the Xiongnu into the Central Plains. He treated the vassal kings with virtue and used military force to pacify the chaos. When dealing with the Xiongnu, he adopted the approach of making peace and stopping war, creating a political situation of stability, unity and rest and recuperation.

It is worth mentioning that Liu Heng, who became Emperor Wen of Han, was still as filial as ever to his mother Bo Ji. When the Empress Dowager Bo was seriously ill for three years, Emperor Liu Heng visited his mother every day for three years, and whenever the imperial physician sent her medicine, Liu Heng had to taste it himself and make sure it was safe before feeding it to her. As a result, Liu Bang and Bo Ji's son, Emperor Liu Heng of Han, has also been celebrated in China to this day for his filial piety towards his mother.

Beginning with the establishment of the Han Dynasty by Liu Bang, the Han Dynasty (202 BC - 220 AD) was a great unified dynasty following the Qin Dynasty, divided into the Western Han and Eastern Han periods, with a total of 29 emperors: Liu Bang, Liu Heng, Liu Qi, Liu Che, Liu Xun, Liu Xiu, Liu Zhuang, Liu Jin, Liu Zhao and others. In total, the Han Dynasty lasted 407 years. The Han Dynasty was the most advanced and powerful empire in the world at the time. At the height of the Han Dynasty, it was the most advanced empire in the world at the time, with Korea to the east, Vietnam to the south, the Onion Mountains to the west and Mongolia to the north.

The Han Dynasty was also a time of great achievements in the field of science and technology, such as Cai Lun's improvement of paper making, which became one of the four great inventions of China, and Zhang Heng's invention of the geodesic instrument and the armillary sphere.

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